Following from Streamlined Lives, I encountered this by Neal Litherland :
Immediately I was struck again with the concept of recognizing the differences and similarities between fictional roleplaying games and our experienced reality.
Most especially, what we can learn from one which applies equally to the other as revelationary.
My real life 'class' is Middle, something the evil corporate government are doing everything imaginable to remove from society (and along with it, culture) in their pursuit of expanding the distance between the 'haves' and 'have nots'.
I can expand on this. Officially my academic qualification and training is the very middle class bacheloreate with honours degree in the Fine Arts, to make it sound more posh than 'i did art school'. My class therefore is 'Artist'. This is perhaps the most diverse social caste of all. I can and have rubbed shoulders with millionaires and beggars, masonic elite and druggies, rapists and trauma victims, shamen and scientists, archeologists and policemen, parents and rockstars, hookers and bureacrats, teachers and monks, and many others. I have a diverse range of experience from discussing with these people many aspects of this life and their experiences of it. Most people I encounter have very limited social circles restricted to their own types of people. I am not judgemental, were I to be I would be less effective.
Another important fact setting an artist as an outasider from mainstream society is what artists get away with. On one occasion I simply had to climb through the mesh fence to get a photograph from that particular restricted vantage. Similar in cocky bravado to how a journalist must work. The police observing my antics let me off for tresspass as soon as I explained that I am an award winning artist and the photograph is worth a lot of money.
Time to relate a true story from a group I knew who were playing Minds Eye Theater's Vampire Live Action rpg one night in town, the meta-theater, using real facilities (bars, castle, scenic views, etc) also being used in realtime by real people.
The police were interested in a particular candle lit ceremony where one goth chick laying in the center of a pentagram on top of a grave in the local churchyard was being ritually sacrificed including candles, chanting, fake blood, arcane words and hooded cloaks and a plastic toy sword from the pound shop. The police were understandably nervous at encountering the spectacle one snowy winter friday night in the middle-class medieval market town functioning as a backdrop to the scenario.
"Are you art students?" The beat cop asked hesitantly.
"Yes officer." replied the quick thinking Storyteller (gamesmaster).
The cops laughed nervously with relief that they had not encountered some terrifying crime involving dark energies beyond their imagination.
"Oh no worries. Don't leave a mess."
Art students. The most magick words uttered during the whole incantation, dispelling the problematic authority who whisked themselves away rapidly into the snowflaky darkness and were never heard from again. Had the Larpers replied "no officer, we are exorcising a demonic spirit from our vampiric brethren and one of us is a werewolf" the crew would have invited trouble on themselves which would have made the demon seem like childs play.
A story worth relating which illustrates the point, that the Artist in society does not have the same boundaries restricting their creativity as do most other classes of citizen, and that even now this is accepted. Artists having to justify why they are doing whatever peculiar activity usually can do so and will bore any judger types to death with it. So people simply let them get on with it. They make their money if they are lucky and notoriety from doing weird shit supposed to make others think and admire their skill.
"Are you art students?" The beat cop asked hesitantly.
"Yes officer." replied the quick thinking Storyteller (gamesmaster).
The cops laughed nervously with relief that they had not encountered some terrifying crime involving dark energies beyond their imagination.
"Oh no worries. Don't leave a mess."
Art students. The most magick words uttered during the whole incantation, dispelling the problematic authority who whisked themselves away rapidly into the snowflaky darkness and were never heard from again. Had the Larpers replied "no officer, we are exorcising a demonic spirit from our vampiric brethren and one of us is a werewolf" the crew would have invited trouble on themselves which would have made the demon seem like childs play.
A story worth relating which illustrates the point, that the Artist in society does not have the same boundaries restricting their creativity as do most other classes of citizen, and that even now this is accepted. Artists having to justify why they are doing whatever peculiar activity usually can do so and will bore any judger types to death with it. So people simply let them get on with it. They make their money if they are lucky and notoriety from doing weird shit supposed to make others think and admire their skill.
C'est ne pas une pipe. 50 views of empty spaces. Smelly condom collection.
Artists like Arkham inmates function from obsessive out-of-the-box forms of self-contained logic and if they are any good will come up with the goods to visually and increasingly as art theory develops, mentally, stimulate the experiencer.
The Gamesmaster explains that I cannot have Artist as a character class because it is too broad based. I must specialize. I protest, "but darling, then I would not be a real artist." Digression assured.
I am actually looking for affordable artists to illustrate particular rpg products, please contact me at snakeappletree@gmail.com with links to your folio and tariff.
The Gamesmaster explains that I cannot have Artist as a character class because it is too broad based. I must specialize. I protest, "but darling, then I would not be a real artist." Digression assured.
I am actually looking for affordable artists to illustrate particular rpg products, please contact me at snakeappletree@gmail.com with links to your folio and tariff.
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